This is usually the trend: misinformed criticism of leftist activism or culture result in high-profile strawman arguments in popular media, which activists take great glee in tearing down. Real issues go unsolved, and both left and right further cement themselves into ironclad camps.

Women’s soccer signs top recruit class in the nation

The Stanford women’s soccer team announced today that it had signed seven new players from the class of 2018 to make up what TopDrawerSoccer.com is calling the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class.

The Cardinal will return nine of its 11 starters next season, and hopes will be high for the team after its uncharacteristically early departure from the NCAA Championship tournament this past fall.

Redshirt senior forward Courtney Verloo (5) finished her final year on the Farm as the Cardinal’s scoring leader. The Cardinal’s promising new recruit class will look to make up for Verloo’s team-leading scoring ability. (SIMON WARBY/The Stanford Daily)

The rising freshman class consists of five Californians, as well as one player from Washington and one from Virginia, adding to an already California-heavy squad.

The top recruit, Andi Sullivan of Lorton, Va., will be a familiar face for some of the Cardinal already; she is the captain of the U-20 Women’s National Team, and has played alongside freshmen Maddie Bauer, Jane Campbell and Stephanie Amack, along with sophomore Laura Leidle.

“Andi…brings a wealth of experience to Stanford,” head coach Paul Ratcliffe told GoStanford.com. “Andi will be a great leader and has the potential to make an immediate impact as a defender or midfielder.”

Sullivan, who will further contribute to a back line already held steady by Bauer, Liedle and redshirt junior Kendall Romine, is not the only major talent coming to the team.

Kyra Carusa of San Diego and Mariah Lee of Covington, Wash. will help to fill the gap left by departing redshirt senior Courtney Verloo, the Cardinal’s scoring leader this past season.

At midfield, Stanford will add Zoe Pacalin of Portola Valley, Calif., Jaye Boissiere of Los Altos Hills, Calif. and Sarah Robinson of Los Altos, Calif., while Alison Jahansouz of Huntington Beach, Calif. will become the backup goalkeeper to freshman Jane Campbell, who was productive at the position after replacing injured senior Emily Oliver early in the 2013 season.

The addition of so much local talent is another benefit of this recruiting class; Pacalin, Robinson and Boissiere all played together on the Mountain View-Los Altos Lightning club team and will thus bring pre-existing chemistry onto the field at Stanford.

“We are very excited to sign seven outstanding student-athletes for our 2014 recruiting class,” Ratcliffe told GoStanford.com. “We are confident that they will be valuable contributors to the team and help us compete for another national championship.”

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Number of 4-star recruits (247Sports) in Stanford's football #CardClass16, the most since 2012. The Cardinal's stellar class finished as the 16th best in the nation.

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